Ekor
The third planet in the Solaris system, it is the least developed and most diverse of all the planets, as no single race has emerged its ruler Creation It is believed that at the beginning of time itself the great god Archus pooled his being into the universe and gave birth to it. This coalescing of energy caused four gods to be created, Multris, Dundestro, Flora and Jujura. These four gods combined their power to form the world of Ekor. Multris made the north continent and filled it with all myriad of terrains and creatures to entertain him. Flora made the great forests and plains of the west continent, her benevolence extending to even give the loweliest animals sentience. Dundestro was made lord of the south and poured his wisdom into the sands of its deserts. Jujura hid amongst the swamps and jungles of the east continent, planning and scheming for the sheer joy of it. It was after the gods had endured their peaceful dream world for a few thousand human years that they decided to make mankind. Each god came together on the Isle of Fate, which was surrounded by the Ring of Mountains and the vast central ocean, together they made mankind and each gave something to the new creatures. History First Age When mankind was first brought to Ekor they were greatly dependent on the gods that created them. Each continent was filled with people who worshipped the god who created it, save for the isle of fate, where all gods were worshipped. Settlements began to crop up and expand from where the gods made their homes and society became more independent. Commercial and Governmental orders were estabilished seperate from the Church, defining clear sections and pathways for humans to follow. At this early point in Ekorian history, only one race existed on Ekor, the archaic Ceish, whose very language spurred an archaelogical drive around the year 178,470. It was in the year 4396 Afuterir Marne (Ceish for after man) that the gods forcibly evolved some humans into the Mesir. The Mesir were a scientifically advanced and honour-centric race, with small bodies and large, bulbous brains. They lived on islands in the eastern sea that are now the site of the Leviathan Maelstrom. It is believed the gods created the Mesir to test the bounds and side-effects of Intelligence, no other reasoning has gained much footing in the historical community. Many centuries passed with little occuring and the world being at peace. But peace could not last forever, especially when each god had the power and influence to create whole armies of fanatical troops. The Ancient wars however were not the gods doing, centuries of building religious hostility caused each continent and therefore faction to break out in conflict. Those who inhabitated the Isle of Fate claimed to be the purest and vowed to cleanse the world of those who followed but one god. With the eventual victory of the Thyorlans, Flora's followers, the first age of Ekor came to an end. Mesir Created by magically altering the physiology of humans in the year 4396 A.M, they are generally beleived to almost be a "pet project" of the gods. Their standard height was somwhere around four foot, but their brain capacity was twice that of a human, giving them two hemispherical growths on their heads and an amorphous skull capable of redifining its shape. This increased intellectual capability led to superb technological advances in a few hundred years, in fact by the year 4821 A.M (onl y 425 years after their initial creation) they had already mastered many basic mechanical designs, such as the flushable toilet and counterweight lift technology. This was hardly comparitive to human technology, as humans had only just invented the bow and arrow, such peaceful times required no innovation. However it was inevitable that the Mesir would fall and use their intelligence for evil. As the sixth millenium A.M progressed the Mesir started to question the usefulness of the gods, choosing instead to worship their emperors and empresses. During the reign of Empress Shaklidra in the year 5287 A.M the Mesir began mobilisation to attack the Eastern Continent, fighting swords and arrows with guns and steam powered vehicles. The gods grew angry with the Mesir and warned them to use their intelligence with purity and good intent. The Mesir argued that their intentions were good, as good and evil are merely opinion. So it came to pass that in the year 5293 A.M that the gods made good on their threats to the Mesir. Roiling up the seas and sending meteors crashing down on their capital of Cumtshar, as well as its outerlying territories. So great and final was the cataclysm that the Leviathan Maelstrom still exists as a constant reminder to those who would tempt the gods. Ancient Wars Many years after the Mesir were met with their untimely demise, The Ancient Wars between the various supporters and followers of the gods took place. The most commonly believed cause for the war besides the mounting religious tension and general distrust is the rising of a new leader among the Icidrials. The Icidrials were the followers of Dundestro, they beleived that there wisdom was second only to the Mesir. In the year 14,832 A.M, a man named Farshkal became the leader of the Icidrials and invented a curse called "The Mark". It would kill those who didn't truly follow him, an absolute way for him to gain control of the world. In response to this, the Thyorlans, renowned witches and diviners, prepared to counter Farshkal's efforts. The first three decades of the conflict were only between these two factions, Flora and Dundestro each desparately trying to stop their followers from fighting. The gods had grown melancholy since the Mesir and had vowed to never get majorly involved with their creations again. However when Jujura encouraged the Veskrinx, his followers, to take part in the conflict as supposed "mercenaries" the last and final god Multris was forced to fight against him with his followers the Meliants. Those who lived on the Isle of fate were also instructed to return everyone to the faith in all gods rather than one, so the Ascolites were formed to purge the world. Considering the war was between four entire continents, very little progress was made and many territorial or number gains were soon lost or negated. During the conflict the gods finally decided that the world was beyond their control, so in the year 16,211 A.M the gods left Ekor forever. Now that the world had been left to those who inhabited it, the Ayngnir, demi-god beings that the gods had created to control things such as agriculture and summer, started to become the focus of Human religious attention. However they played little part in the Ancient wars and were ultimately unimportant and would remain so for a few more millenia. The Thyorlans gained much ground during the Calasa offensive, an attack that began at the Icidrial port of Calasa. Thanks to this ground the Icidrials conceded defeat and the various other factions lost reasoning to fight, save for the Ascolites. Though for a while they maintained their supposed puritanical status, the fact that the gods had left led them to disband within 80 years of the end of the war. So in the year 18,656 A.M the first age of Ekor ended with relatively stable peace, the various factions specialising in a god rather than worshipping a specific one Category:Worlds Second Age This age began with the end of the Ancient wars in 18,656 A.M and was a period of great change for Ekor. It was during this age that the many races that inhabit Ekor came into being from humans. This came about because of the worship of particular Ayngnir demi-gods throughout the world. This Ayngnir possesed phenomenol power that grew greatly with their extensive followers, allowing the Ayngnir to gift their thralls with new life. In the year 22,488 A.M the first generation of Elves was born, followed by the first Kruels in 22,563 A.M, the Goblins in 23,119 A.M and lastly the Knifracs in 25,094 A.M. The Dragoth race also came into being however they were not born of the Ayngnir and so were limited in their gifts. It was after the creation of the Dragoth race that the many races began to squabble of land. It erupted into more war in the year 29,003 A.M when the Dragoth empire began to expand across the majority of the North continent. After hundreds of years of Dragoth oppression the other races banded together and drove the Dragoths back to their original land in 34,427 A.M, this marked the end of the second age. Elves Believing Flora to be their most kindred deity, the Elves have a great love for all things and respect life in itself. This led them to worship the Ayngnirs of the natural world, such as Viriano of the woods and Clissidra of the crystal waters. These Ayngnir where all very close and so joined their powers when the time came to reward their followers and make the Elves. The Elves have many advantages over humans, but the laws of the gods dictate that these things must still be balanced. For example, an Elves potential lifespan is quite close to 100,000 years, however low sperm counts and a long menstrual cylce ensure that overpopulation is a minor concern. Elves also possess a high evolutionary rate, being able to physically change from generation to generation to some extent, to allow for this Elves are quite prone to genetically based diseases as their DNA is so susceptible to change.